Women in Development and Peace – Hanan Hussein

While Yemeni women haven’t achieved significant success in politics and peacemaking, and despite the immense challenges they face in various aspects of life due to the conflict’s repercussions, this hasn’t stopped them from proving their ability to overcome, succeed, and shine in all fields, especially in entrepreneurship. Many women have entered the field of entrepreneurship with great confidence and successive successes, achieving impressive results that rival their male counterparts.

The journey of Yemeni businesswomen hasn’t been easy. They have faced numerous obstacles and challenges, starting from customs and traditions that may hinder women’s participation in business, to the lack of opportunities to access funding, support, and encouragement. They strive to prove their ability to bear responsibility in the most challenging circumstances. We find them putting aside fears and difficulties, facing the situation with courage and bravery, and leaving their mark on a history rich with distinction and success.

Poverty Threatens Entrepreneurship

A series of economic reports and studies have shown a decline in the living standards of Yemeni society due to the conflicts. The 2020 Human Development Report by the United Nations Development Program classified Yemen as the poorest country in the world, ranking 175th globally out of 189 countries.

The decline in living standards in Yemen is attributed to many factors, most notably the conflict that has been ongoing since 2014. This conflict has led to the destruction of infrastructure, the disruption of economic activity, the loss of many sources of livelihood, the exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis, and a significant rise in prices.

Entrepreneurial Projects and Activities

Although many obstacles and challenges may confront women in the labor market due to the conflict’s repercussions, they have turned these challenges into opportunities to unleash their skills and creativity in various fields, especially in business. This has been achieved through the implementation of several small projects and businesses, such as home cooking, gardening, and home farming, and simple sewing workshops with minimal costs. Most of these simple projects have turned into giant ventures that enjoy wide popularity.

Yemeni women’s creativity is not limited to production and commercial projects. They have also excelled in the fields of marketing and photography. Many of them have been creative in using social media platforms to market their products and services. They have also used photography as a tool to express themselves, which has won the admiration and appreciation of everyone. Their projects and works have received local, Arab, and international acclaim.

Sarah Al-Ameer, owner of SCB Cleaning Company, talks about the main reasons that prompted her to start her own business: “The most prominent reason that pushed me to start my own project was the effort and fatigue I put in during my journey of searching for a job with others. That’s when the idea came to me to have my own project, to put in a great effort and see the result of my work on the ground. I also thought of a passionate field that I could do with love and mastery, and I found nothing but the field of cleaning, which I saw as an inspiring project for other people.”

Sarah adds: “The conflict has a very negative impact on many people, but of course, the positive side of our capabilities as women has emerged in facing all the challenges. Regarding the negative impact, we can say that it has affected businesswomen, such as the lack of security and stability, and the rise in prices of some materials, which has contributed to the suspension of some businesswomen’s projects for fear that the conflict will last longer.”

Sarah believes that the positive side also lies in the enthusiasm of young people and women and their motives towards establishing private projects. Before the conflict, they were dependent on their salaries from government jobs and some of their family members worked in the public sector. This experience has put them in front of a lesson from which many women and young people have learned to rely on their abilities and efforts deeply and extensively.

The Thought of Entrepreneurship

Zafaran Al-Muhanna, founder of “Show I Can” project, talks about her experience: “I summarize my experience in two slogans that I have followed. The first slogan is specific to Zafaran, which is believing in my abilities; it is ‘If I want to, I can.’ The second slogan I followed with my community is ‘I can’.”

She adds: “The entrepreneurial project was formed with my partners, called ‘Show I Can’ project, in which we outlined the idea of entrepreneurship by presenting both halves of society (women and men) in exhibitions where they experiment with their projects to launch, and leave their mark with their customers after being trained with skills that give them a full-fledged start.”

Challenges

While businesswomen have succeeded and their role in society has become prominent, and they have contributed to driving the wheel of economic development in the country, they have faced many difficulties and challenges.

Sarah Al-Ameer explains the most prominent obstacles, saying: “The conflict has led to the closure of a group of projects and companies, and businesswomen have lost their source of income, especially in some areas in which they specialized, which have been severely affected as a result of the conflict’s repercussions in many Yemeni governorates.”

She adds: “Businesswomen face great difficulties in operating their businesses again, or even new projects, due to the scarcity of resources, as well as the high operating costs, and facing the restrictions imposed on movement and travel.”

Businesswomen’s Resilience

Despite the significant impact of the conflict, which hindered businesswomen on their path to success, they have persevered and overcome difficulties. We find that many of them have turned to finding alternatives, such as small home-based projects or working in sectors like catering, services, and education to secure a source of income for themselves and their families.

Manal Ahmad, Vice-Chair of the Businesswomen’s Committee and the General Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Yemen said, “Women have played a prominent and important role in the resilience of families during the period of conflicts in many Yemeni governorates. They have proven their strength and competence in finding solutions through a set of ideas and projects that have helped and assisted families in their livelihoods. Yemeni women have emerged as the most important element of resilience during the conflict.”

We also find that a group of businesswomen has resorted to innovation and keeping pace with development by using modern technology and social media to promote their products and services and communicate with customers in ways that meet the requirements of the times, despite the difficulties in an unstable environment like Yemen.

Community support, through initiatives and groups that support businesswomen aimed at enhancing economic empowerment, has provided additional strength enabling women to establish their own projects and overcome challenges by providing appropriate training and qualification, working to create opportunities for communication with all parties, and ensuring their support with adequate funding to move forward with their projects.

Recommendations

Among the remedies that Sarah Al-Amir refers to is the continued pursuit of women’s own projects, facing all challenges and conflict consequences step by step, through the preparation of the correct strategies planned with precision to establish the project, even if it is small.

Al-Amir adds: “A businesswoman should also not despair of the current circumstances, and strengthen and develop herself further; so that she is ready to accept the shocks that she may be exposed to and be affected, such as facing the stages that lead to the loss of her project, if the consequences of the conflict increase, and how to put quick solutions to confront them.”

Several researchers and experts also believe that there are a set of recommendations that contribute to the development of women’s economic capabilities, including addressing the phenomena of the continuation of violence against women, especially during times of conflict, and reactivating laws by applying them positively to protect women from violence, and promoting a safe environment for women to practice economic activities, and working to encourage women’s participation in the decision-making process from the economic side, and supporting their participation in various fields.

As well as the proposals, work on improving the infrastructure, facilitating movement, and reducing restrictions imposed on the practice of business, in addition to obtaining support from the competent authorities, supporting organizations, and business incubators that work in a specialized manner in this aspect.

The impact of the conflict in Yemen is described as devastating for businesswomen, but their determination and resilience give hope for their ability to contribute to the reconstruction of Yemen and achieve economic and sustainable development. So, will businesswomen find the path paved in the future?